Elephants in other places too

Thank you for the editorial about Three Waters ( NZ Herald, March 17). Cogovernance is indeed the “elephant in the room” in Three Waters but also in the management of the Hauraki Gulf, regional parks, and the Tūpuna Maunga Authority (TMA). The latter has been operational since 2015 and there is an opportunity to observe the pitfalls. Co-governance depends on goodwill and that has been absent in actions to date.

Although not in the approved TMA Integrated Management Plan, an objection to exotic trees led to their destruction on Pigeon and Māngere mountains. The replacement plantings have largely failed.

Some residents of Mt Albert have protected 345 trees for more than 800 days. A recent Appeal Court judgment set aside the TMA action and the non-notified consent issued by Auckland Council to purge the exotics. A good outcome but at a huge cost.

The iwi members of co-governance boards are not accountable to the wider community. Heritage assets, as at

wairaka, are subject to the arbitrary decisions of unaccountable members of the board. Co-governance in these terms gives a hostage to fortune. We must think again before entangling our water supply, our gulf, and our regional parks in it.

Harold Marshall, Mt Albert.

Continued aggression

As a young British soldier during the 1960s, I vividly recall standing beside the gigantic fence dividing West and East Germany.

As the Russian armies, during WWII, rolled across nations on their way to Berlin they installed puppet communist regimes that then became part of the USSR. Thankfully in the 1990s the walls and fences came down and many nations became free independent states again.

I am concerned with what is happening in Ukraine because Putin will not stop there. He may be content for a while to take all the Black Sea coastal areas and isolate the remainder of Ukraine. But he will continue to chip away until he has the whole of Ukraine under his control. He will then move on to other nations.

The one plus here is that this war has united other European nations as never before. During the past 20 years or so Nato nations, except the US, have reduced defence forces while Russia has been increasing.

There is also a lesson for New Zealand here as we have allowed our forces to fall to a dangerously low level.

Barrie Cavill, Henderson.

Opportune refuge

While New Zealand has offered to support a number of Ukrainian refugees, we have a severe shortage of accommodation for those already living in New Zealand. One answer might be to repurpose some of the MIQ hotels now being decommissioned from their Covid support role, to become homes for a year for Ukrainian refugees. The majority of these refugees will be women and children, so the hotels could offer a creche and English lessons along with accommodation. Parents could then be supported to work in some of our skill shortage areas. They would need to have appropriate visas to work, and the possibility of assisted family reunification either in New Zealand or back to Ukraine. Their situation is barely imaginable to most of us living in New Zealand, and this could be a practical way to help.

Caroline Miller, Birkenhead.

On the wards

Recent letters to the Herald have commented on the current state of the nursing profession in New Zealand.

The removal of the nursing training away from the hospital-based training, which was an apprentice-type training; and placing the training in the polytechnics, to my mind was one of the most foolish things ever done.

In the 60s, my nursing training was one of the most rewarding times I experienced in my life. We trained on the job, after a time in preliminary school and were paid for our work. It was not a huge salary but it was acknowledgment of our contribution. It also weeded out those who were not suited to nursing. Yes, we were given responsibility but most rose to the challenge.

Our ward sisters and the other trained staff, in the main, were supportive of us and our hospitals were run efficiently.

Perhaps it is time to relook at our nursing training.

Annette Stewart, Greenlane.

Raising expectations

Leo Molloy wants sprinklers to stop drunks and undesirables congregating at night in the central city. Social worker Aaron Henry says that hosing isn’t humane and “better results would be achieved by giving those on the margins safe housing and the support they needed” ( NZ Herald, March 22).

I suggest that there are thousands of Kiwis who would love to be given safe housing and support, unfortunately, they have to go out and earn it. Raising an expectation that society will give anyone anything free is not a solution and probably contributes to the problem. Nothing is free; somebody has to pay for it.

Quentin Miller, Te Atatu¯ South.

Vessel stability

As a sailor for 60 years of vessels from catamarans to dinghies to ocean-going yachts there is a fatal flaw in most motor launches/ fast fishing vessels with high superstructures and centres of gravity.

When the ocean becomes tempestuous these shallow-draft boats have little grip on the water.

The modern yacht carries a stabilising keel with 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the total vessel’s weight low down up to 3m in the water acting as a pendulum.

Surfing down big seas at speed or being hit by a breaking rogue wave in a topheavy vessel can cause capsize and rollover. Charter clients wanting to get back to work or an appointment, or being seasick can create extra pressure on operators when prudence might suggest safer alternatives.

Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.

Outlaw behaviour

Jarrod Gilbert ( NZ Herald, March 21) asks “Should we fear the outlaw motorcycle gang packs?” He then goes on to smoothly explain to law-abiding people how they are not as bad as they look, that if we drive respectfully when surrounded by these gangs we should be okay and the only aggression he has witnessed is when car drivers do something crazy.

He appears more concerned that public opinion might curb the bike riders’ freedoms.

If we are in danger of being bashed and kicked to a pulp resulting in death or permanent disability, for simply making the wrong split-second move that may offend them, then yes, we damn well should be very afraid.

J Leighton, Devonport.

You were lucky

Richard Dawn writes ( NZ Herald, March 21) that Boomers had to contend with mortgages at 10 per cent.

We bought our first house in 1988 and were paying 24 per cent interest. The banks scrutinised our spending before granting the mortgage and we were not permitted to have a credit card.

We did not feel hard done by

K. S. Agar, Onehunga.

Tourist-free zone

David Willets’ letter ( NZ Herald, March 21) claims we now have empirical data showing the New Zealand economy can be very strong without the tourist dollar.

Well, it can, if it happens to coincide with a domestic building boom; record low-interest rates; “money printing”; huge government spending and support; and record-high commodity prices.

None of which are sustainable.

Carl Bergstrom, Glendowie.

Best of both

In regard to working from home; my son lives in California, in the foothills of the Sierras. A lot of people work from home in this country area for about three weeks, then go to their office or business all over the US for about a week to catch up and meet other staff.

This has been going on for about 30-40 years and is very popular, as they get country living but work in city businesses.

Paul Mortensen, Glen Eden.

Batting depth

It is not surprising that the White Ferns’ middle and late-order batters collapsed in crisis situations. With the first three batters regularly scoring highly, how often did they get the chance to bat?

In the warm-up friendly when the White Ferns scored 322 for 1 to defeat Australia, media took this as a true indication of our strength. The coaches should have told Devine, Bates, and Kerr to retire after 50 or so, and given the lowerorder batters a chance to face Australian bowling, and experience another innings. They didn’t. We have now paid the price.

Roger Hall, Takapuna.